User Home Page Book: Four Centuries in the New World: Volume One Part A: The Stevens of Virginia, Kentucky, and Georgia

Descendants of John Steephens

122.CAPTAIN PATRICK MARTIN8 STEVENS (JOHNMARTIN7, JOSEPH6, RICHARD5, JOSEPH4, HENRY3, JOHN2, JOHN1STEEPHENS)806 was born 16 October 1823 in Cherry Hill or Oak Hill, Bairdstown, Oglethorpe Co., GA807,808, and died 06 January 1905 in Oak Hill, Bairdstown,Oglethorpe Co., GA809.He married (1) SARAH C. WYNNE810 22 November 1848 in Oglethorpe Co., GA811, daughter of JOHN WYNNE and SUSANNAH OWEN.She was born 18 February 1830 in near Lexington, Oglethorpe Co., GA, and died 26 June 1850 in Oak Hill, Bairdstown, Oglethorpe Co., GA811.He married (2) MARTHA LOUISE ISABELLA BROOKES812 29 November 1853 in Washington, Wilkes Co., GA813,814,815, daughter of IVERSON BROOKES and PRUDENCE IRVIN.She was born 03 April 1830 in Washington, Wilkes Co., GA816,817, and died 06 December 1905 in Oak Hill, Bairdstown, Oglethorpe Co., GA.Notes forCAPTAIN PATRICK MARTIN STEVENS:_____________________________________A note on the use of DNA for research: I strongly encourage male Stevenses to have their DNA checked and to post it on line, either with their identity shielded, as is offered for the Stevenses, or posted without restriction, as I have done.Many have joined in this vast work, but it is only a start. I had FTDNA at <http://www.familytreedna.com/> check my Y DNA to determine common male descent and so far have several matches. While the 12 allele check is a way to start, I recommend the 25 allele results for more refined comparisons.Particularly valuable would be more from the male Stevens line in Europe, where additional results can begin to pin down the origin of the Stevens immigrants to the new world.______________________________________Pat was my great-grandfather.Of him his wife Martha writes in her diary of the day she met him in June 1853:"...Father Enoch Callaway preached the funeral of William Wynn-- poor Kate Wynn Stephens' brother. He left a young widow and two children, the last an infant born after his death.... A large congregation assembled. Just after we had gotten out of the carriage Mr. George C.'s carriage drove up, so we waited and went to the house with Mr. C. As we approached Mr. C. said, Mattie there "he" is. I turned my head and lo Mr. Stephens, in his buggy and horses had driven up. I walked on as Mr. Stephens came in church. I thought him decided ly the handsomest man I knew. He is about 6 feet-- handsomely proportioned figure and dignity of appearance-- fair ruddy complexion-- bright and beautiful black eyes and dark hair and to help out the glowing picture, has a high noble white forehead...."His son Pat, 1874- 1966,wrote:"Patrick Martin Stevens, born Oct. 16, 1823, married Sarah Wynne in 1848, daughter of Isgar Wynne (editor's note: Isgar was John in every record. I do not know where granddaddy got this name), an early settler of the county. He married second, in 1853, Martha Brookes, daughter of the Reverend Iverson Lewis and Prudence IrvinBrookes, an active builder of the early Baptist Church in this section. Captain Patrick M. Stevens took an active part in the stirring times of the fifties and sixties and in the part that Oglethorpe County played. He served in the State Legislature for two terms from the county when the capital was at Milledgeville (see the Official Record of Public Officers of Georgia) and took an active interest in the political history of the county during his lifetime. He was commissioned by the governor as Captain, 22nd Regiment, Georgia Militia, and later, August 4th, 1863, as a 2nd Lieutenant, Company K, 3rd Georgia State Guard Cavalry, and served actively during the War in the Confederate Retreat before Sherman. (See Confederate Records, State Department of Archives.) He was affectionately known by numerous friends as "Uncle Pat," and died in January, 1905 at the age of 82."His mother died when he was four, and we think he was cared for by his Aunt Matilda Phinizy, but by 1836 she too was gone. He was just 12, and had lost both his own and his substitute mothers. Patrick might have returned to his father John at that time. I have never known.In the 1830 census, however, he is probably with his father John, given in the census as John M. Stephens, with the household having 2 males under 5, 1 male five to sixteen, and 1 male 40-50. These must be John Stevens b 1780-1790, Joseph B., b 1814-1825, and Patrick incorrectly noted as less than 5, and James who was then four. Sadly there are no women, with Sarah's passing earlier. By 1840, there are John, now 50-60, Joseph still home, 20-30, and Patrick, 15-20.In the 1850 Oglethorpe census, we have in the Stevens household P. M. Stevens, 26, born in Geo.; John M. Stevens, 56, born in Ken.; Sarah C. Stevens, 20, born in Geo., and Susannah, 4/12, born in Geo.Pat served in the Georgia House in 1861, 1862, and 1863.Capt. Phinizy, his cousin, congratulates him in 1861 on his victory in the election. From "Camp near Fairfax Va Oct 11th 1861" he writes "We are informed here that you are elected to represent our county. I congratulate you on the event. We are not informed who is elected to serve with you in the house, nor are we informed who is elected Senator. I hope that Echols is elected." (See Phinizy letters in my collection.)He might not have been so religious as his Martha, for in her July 25th 1853 diary entry before their marriage she opines, "I must guard my heart and not make an idol of him, and Oh! if he was but a Christian!-- he would be all I could wish." In any event they married that fall and had eleven children between them, in addition to Lou (Sue) who was already three when they married.The archives has this:182405StevensP.M.K3rd Reg't GA Cav. (State Guards)from the GEORGIA CIVIL WAR SOLDIER INDEX - Page 260 - Stepens thru Stevison:181697-182538Compiled and formatted by Keith GiddeonInfo and F.A.Q. at http://www.rootsweb.com/~gagenweb/military/gsi/index.html________________________________________The 1860 census finds the Stevens:REFERENCE:Enumerated June 26, 1860 by Benagz Crowley, Page 41LNHNFNLAST NAMEFIRST NAMEAGE SEXRACEOCCUP.REAL VAL. BIRTHPLACE========================================================================== ======36288288 StevensP. M.35MFarmer 10,000 35,000Ga.37288288 StevensMartha27F Ga.38288288 StevensSusanah10F Ga.39288288 StevensIsabella5F Ga.40288288 StevensMary3F Ga.1288288 StevensJohn1M Ga.______________________________________From the Oglethorpe Echo, reprinted with thanks to those noted below in the Rootsweb Oglethorpe site, is this compendium of Pat's neighbors just before the war:Georgia:Oglethorpe County:Prominent Ante-Bellum Families From the Oglethorpe Echo, 12 November 1909====================================================================USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store this file permanently for free access. This file was contributed by: Troy Colquitttelles@elberton.net====================================================================Oglethorpe Echo Nov. 12th 1909"PROMINENT ANTE-BELLUM CITIZENS OF OUR COUNTYMen who gave Oglethorpe fame for its Exceptional High Class of the most Noble of CitizenryAS REMEMBERED BY MR. J. S. BAUGHNTo use a Texas parlance I come to a round up, but before doing so I will state an omission.George Latimer had a son, Joel, who went to Alabama. The two Milner brothers, John and Johnson, lived between Salem and Woodstock.Three sisters were married to men whose names I mentioned in my last.Above Bairdstown lived that courtly gentleman, P. M. Stevens.Near him was Joel Hunt, Messrs. Smith, Marable and Colclough, I have not used titles, but will by way of designation in the case of Messrs. W. B. Brightwell, O. P. Finley, J. W. Patrick, Mr. Porter, Dr. George Lumpkin, Burnett Moore, J. A. and B. A. Christopher, Seaborn Aycock, A. J. Gillen, Sr.William Davis, William Brook, Booker Adkins, for a long while sheriff of the county, after the war.I will say that Mr. Adkins lived near Prospect Academy located then near where R. L. Callaway now lives. I went to school with his oldest boys in 1848.The Ellises were denizens of upper Falling Creek district, James and William Jewell, Marshall Edwards, Hamp Bugg, Matt Jackson, Mr. Cummings.I again state that I speak only of those I knew, but did not know of their precise location. I have alluded to Marshall Edwards as he lived at Herman, he had five other brothers who lived aboveor to the northwest of him.William Lemuel, John, Seaborn and Mordecai.The Martins, Crowley's Trible, Obadiah Thompson and Feilding Dillard.I will again allude to some families that went to Louisiana a few years before the war, and I knew them there. Barnett Moore, John Holmes, Thomas Baldwin, Mrs. Pricilla Moore and Mrs. Elizabeth Crowder.They and their children were the best of citizens and were never wanting in any essential to constitute models of their county's pride. There were three Fullilove brothers, James, William and Tatum, that went to Louisiana and one I am sure was from the Oglethorpe side - the other two from Clarke.Marshall Brawner was living at the Brawner house just before the war.The Bowling family lived above Stephens and up the railroad were John Pulnot, Jacob Phinizy, Woodie Daniel, Mr. Campbell, James Norton and I would not leave out that unique character, Bennett Martin.Never did a man hold more tenaciously to his convictions.T'was he who said he once met with eleven contrary men when he would not assent to a verdict that he did not believe was right.There was a Mr. Phelps, who moved to the George Latimer place before the war, and his sons made good soilders. Mr. Hansford was an overseer, who changed his abode very often but his sons were all true blue in the trying times from 1861 to 1865.Newton Petermen, William Wray, and Henry Brittian, who was for many years the honored ordinary of the county.I know I have omitted many names, but if I am able to obtain a roster of the different companies in the county, that defect in my memory will be made manifest.Now, as to the ladies of the county.The mothers, wives and sisters, too much can not be said in praise.The untiring energy and self sacrifice well deserves a monument.A roman matron was once asked my some visitors to see her jewels, meaning her personal adornments.In response she bought out her two sons.They, in after years, gave inestimable proofs as defenders of the ancient city.The mothers of Oglethorpe, like the ancient spartan mothers, bade adieus to their sons with the same injunction,"Return on you shield or with your shield", conquer or die, and right nobley did they heed the advice.I will say that the request to write up the military characters of the county, to obey I shall need aid.I was in the western army with a Texas regiment and knew little of my native county's part in the struggle.J. S. B."<p><img src="http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/ftm/s/t/e/Pat-M-Stevens-iv/PHOTO/0124photo.jpg"></p>From the Oglethorpe Echo, Lexington, Georgia, Friday, Jan. 13, 1905, a clipping in my collection:"CAPT. STEVENS NO MORE.-------------------------------------------Another of Oglethorpe's Oldest Citizens Taken Hence------------------------------------------------------He Was Among the Last of the Gentlemen of the School of Antebellum Days Among Us.----------------------------------------------------We made the announcement in the last issue that Capt. P. M. Stevens, who had been ill with pneumonia at his home near Maxeys for several weeks, was sinking and not expected to last through the day. Before the entire issue of the paper had been mailed we were informed by telephone that at 11 o'clock death had relieved him of his sufferings.In the death of Capt. Stevens, another of the county's oldest citizens, and one known to and highly esteemed by, we might say a majority of the people of the county, is taken. For more than three quarters of a century he had lived in the county, and in his more active days was one of the county's most prominent men.He was born Oct. 16, 1823, within a few hundred yards of where he died, and the place he owned has been his home for the entire eighty-one years of his life, it having been inherited by him from his father.He was twice married, first to Miss Sarah Wynne, of this county, on the 22d of November, 1848. She lived only two years, leaving an infant daughter at her death. His second wife was Miss Martha Brooks, of Wilkes County, who he married Nov. 29th, 1853, and who survives him. To them were born eleven children, eight of whom are left to mourn his loss.Capt. Stevens descended from a long line of brave patriotic ancestry. His father was Maj. John M. Stevens who came from Kentucky and settled in Oglethorpe County more than a century ago. His mother was Sarah Stewart, daughter of Gen. John B. Stewart of revolutionary fame. His great-grandfather, Gen. Daniel Stewart came with Gen. Oglethorpe, serving as secretary when he came from England to settle the Georgia Colony.He was a captain of a company in the Confederate army, in which position he did valiant service for his beloved Southland.For two terms he represented Oglethorpe County in the Georgia Legislature. This was in the 50s when Milledgeville was the capital. Many of his colleagues in that body became distinguished citizens of the State. (Ed. note: He actually was elected to the terms of 1861, 1862, and 1863.)In antebellum days, Capt. Stevens was one of the largest, if not the largest, landowners and slave holders in the county, and was one of Oglethorpe's wealthiest citizens. By the fortune of the war, however, his wealth was swept away, but he accepted the decree without a murmur, and his home was ever open to all who might come and partake of his hospitality which he dispensed lavishly.He was one of the now quite few remaining gentlemen of that school that belonged peculiarly to the Old South. His gentility was noticeable in his every act and even by his appearance. He ever evinced a courteousness and courtliness that is not born in those of later generations. He was generous almost to a fault and his kindly consideration for all about him was beautiful to behold.He was a remarkably healthy and vigorous man, and up to the day he was taken with his last illness looked actively after his affairs. When he knew that his end was near at hand his only concern was for the companion of his bosom for more than fifty years and for the children who would be bereft of his care and protection.His spark of life went out as a candle that had burned to the end of its wick-- he only gasped, it was gone. His long and useful career came peacefully and placidly to a close; he laid down his life's burden and went to his reward, for a life well spent in which he lived not for nor to himself but for those around him. The world was bettered by his having lived; heaven gains by his death.He was perhaps the oldest Mason in the county. For half a century he had lived as well as professed the tenets of that noble order. And after funeral services conducted by the Rev. Jno. D. Mell, it was by his brethren that he was laid to rest Saturday evening at three o'clock."The assertion in the above obituary that John Stewart was a son of Daniel is incorrect, although they may well be cousins.The confusion may stem from their both being general officers. And, while the article mentions the 1850s for Pat's service in Milledgeville, the records show his service in the terms of 1861, 62, and 63. I thought also for many years that he had served in the Convention called by the Governor to debate the act of Secession, in which he perhaps would have voted against the proposed act, as some large number of the northern tier of Georgia counties did.At its later passage, however, all agreed to the Confederate cause, however reluctantly.I have found that even though he was elected to the House in 1861, this was after the Convention, assembled in January 1861. The convention delegates from Oglethorpe were D. D. Johnson, Samuel Glenn, andWillis Willingham, according to the "Journal of the Public and Secret Proceedings of the Convention of the People of Georgia, Held in Milledgeville and Savannah in 1861, Together with the Ordinances Adopted, 1861. (This text has kindly been made available on the Web <http://docsouth.unc.edu/georgia/georgia.html> by theAcademic Affairs Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1999.) The first and telling vote in that January convention was on Mr. Nisbet's motion "Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, it is the right and duty of Georgia to secede from the present Union, and to co-operate with such of the other States as have or shall do the same, for the purpose of forming a Southern Confederacy upon the basis of the Constitution of the United States." The vote was "yeas 166, nays 130," hardly a ringing endorsement for secession.The northern, Piedmont, counties were much opposed to secession, Oglethorpe County was one, although we note Johnson and Glenn voted in the affirmative, and Willis Willingham alone said no!Interestingly, Daniel Stewart noted above was the reason we have Fort Stewart, Ga., today.My sister Nancy and her husband Curry were there 1977-80, and Curry there in the 1950s as an Army child before joining the class of 1963 at West Point. Today it still calls us-- Patrick Martin Stevens Vth is to go there when he is commissioned this summer as a new engineer... (2002)Among the relics I have from the old home at Oak Hill is a small envelope marked "Pa's Hair in this enclosure," containing a packet of yellowish white hair and the note: "Pa's hair taken off the day he left us for his home beyond the skyes. Died Jan 6th 1905, with typhoid pneumonia. His last words were 'I want to go Home.' And we know he is in a happy home. PearlS. "(his daughter Pearl who was at Oak Hill, with Rosa and their mother, Martha,when he died.)Patrick Martin Stevens died of pneumonia the 6th January, 1905 at his home of many years, Oak Hill, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He was near eighty-two years old. In the Philippine Islands, his son Pat said his father's spirit came to him that night to say goodbye. Martha survived her Pat by only a little over ten months. Today, almost a hundred years gone by, they lie together only a few steps from their home, Oak Hill, under the now large magnolias planted by the young bride Martha so long ago. In a 1903 picture they sit on the porch at Oak Hill holding hands, and seem surely as fond of each other then as they were at their wedding 50 years before.More AboutCAPTAIN PATRICK MARTIN STEVENS:Burial: the Stevens Cemetery at Oak Hill, Oglethorpe Co., GACause of Death: typhoid pneumoniaMedical Information: hair sample availableNotes forSARAH C. WYNNE:I had not found her death date until November, 1998, when I discovered a list of deaths in Martha Stevens' hand giving the Decemberdate.But also note that Jack Wynn has her death as 28 Jan 1850, which I take as being more accurate than Martha's entry.Martha's diary, 1852-53, notes "poor Kate's death,"and the child left behind.She also mentions how fate decrees that she shall marry Kate's husband, "both of them loving" the same man. "Bright merry-hearted Kate, little did you think when we were school mates that we would both love the same one and that I would marry him after you had been taken from him-- alone and desolate, without a wife to cheer and sympathize with in his joys and sorrows in a world where at best we have more of sorrow and sadness than joy and pleasure, and that Matt Brooks would be the step-mother of your child."Martha was less than three months younger than Kate. I suspect her middlename was Catherine, for Kate.___________________________________Jack Wynn wrote:Sarah C. (Wynn) Stevens is buried in the Wynne/Thaxton Cemetery on the North side of County Road 142 about 250 yds West of it's intersection withUS Highway 78."Stevens, Sarah C.18 Feb 183026 Jan 1850Married Patrick M. Stevens;dau of John & Susannah Wynn"source: Cemeteries of Oglethorpe County, GeorgiaSection Lpg. 227.If you don't get there I did take a lot of pictures of all the tombstones Iwas interested in,hers included.______________________________________Jack Wynn also furnished these:Oglethorpe Co., GA Will Bk D Pgs 340-341 (copy from microfilm GDAH)pgs 340/341Oglethorpe County Ordinary Office May Term 1856Georgia Oglethorpe CountyI John Wynne of said County being in good health and sound & disposing mind and memory do make publish & declare this to be my last Will and testament Revoking hereby all former Wills.First I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Susannah as much of my household&Kitchen furniture asmany ofmy horses andmules, plows, gear, wagons & carts, as many hogs, sows and pigs, sheep & as much corn fodder oats shucks bacon & meat as she may desire and select, also my carriage & harness & carriage horses, my buggy and harness & all of my poultry. The above is given to my wife during her natural life & after her death, such as may be then in her possession and not previous sold or disposed of by her, to be divided according to the residency clause of my Will herein after set forth & expressed (?). I also give and bequeath unto my said wife during her natural life and & after her death to be divided according to the said residency clause, the following property, to wit, all the land I own in said county, lying on the left side of the road leading from Lexington to Washington & so much of my land on the right hand side of said road as is included in the following boundary, That's to say Commencing at the upper Corner of the Jackson tract of land near a large Red Oak standing on or near said road & thence runnin rather a south west course to a Black Jack or Post Oak Corner on Ms. Simmons land, Thence running on the line between my land and Ms Simmons land to a pine corner and thence running nearly a north course to a post Oak, thence bounded by lands of Chandler & Dorough (?) and thence bounded by the Brown tract of land ( the land given to my said wife includes of Course my dwelling house, out houses, stables, barns etc etc and also the following negroes to wit, Delilah, Hannah, Jane, David, Ann, the wife of David & her child. Jim & Charity his wife, Evans, Little Jim & Charles, Joe, Erasmus, Doctor & Savannah, the children of Delilah and Albert, the grandchild of delilah & the future increase of said females.Second All the rest & residue of my estate real personal and choses (?) in action of whatever nature and kind that I may own and possess at the time of my death. I give & bequeath to my sons Thomas, Glenn, George & my beloved grand daughter Susannah Stevens and the two children of my deceased son William. The two children of son William under this clause one fifth or per stirpes.Third In case my grand daughter Susannah Stevensshould die before marrying, then I desire that the legacy she receives under this will shall go to my sons Thomas, Glenn & George & the two children of my deceased son William. The said children of William taking per stipes. And in case the said children of William should inherit anything from my said grand daughter Susannah and both of them should die before they arrive at the age of twenty one, the property so inherited shall then go to my sons Thomas, Glenn & George. In case both of William's children should die before they arrive at the age of twenty one, then I desire the legacy they receive under the will shall go to my sons Thomas, Glenn & George & my beloved grand daughter Susannah Stevens, and in case my said grand daughter should inherit anything from William's Children and she should die before marrying, the property so inherited shall go to my sons Thomas, Glenn & George -- - - - - -Fourth, It is my further desire that the legacy or legacies given to my son Thomas under this will shall vest in my son Glenn in trust for the support & maintenance of my said son Thomas and his children now born or may hereafter be born, free from all Contracts, Liabilities and Control of my said son Thomas and at the death of my said son Thomas the same to be equally divided between his children then living and the Representatives of such as are dead. The Representatives taking per stipes.Fifth. I hereby nominate & appoint my son Glenn Wynne & my nephew John Favers & Patrick M. Stevens Executors of this my last Will & testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of these Honourable witnesses on the 12th April in the year of our lord Eighteen hundredand fifty six. hissigned ??? and published in presence ofJohnx Wynn\B. F. HardemanmarkAllen J. Arnold Sarah F. Wynne(notation : carried over for probate)++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Oglethorpe Co., GA Will Book D, pages 494/495.494Court of Ordinary January Term 1864GeorgiaI Susannah Wynn of the County and State aforesaid being of sound and Oglethorpe Countydisposing mind and memory and conscious of the frailty and uncertainty of human life do make and ordain this to be my last will and testament.\Item 1st.I give and bequeath to my son Thomas B. Wynn all my glass and crockery an all my old silver teaspoons and tablespoons.My carton & cupboard & brick work bed quilt. Magnolia leaf coverlet and raindrop tablecloth and work table.Item 2ndI give and bequeath to my son Glenn O. Wynn Georgia Star bed quilt - large linen table cloth magnolia leaf coverlet - and my buggy and harness.Item 3rdI give and bequeath to my grand daughter SUSANNAH S. STEPHENS my silver knives and forkes my new silver tablespoons ? ten new counterpins honey comb and broken divinity straight striped finest diaper table cloth two pair ?? little work table with drawer in it magnolia coverlet and large carriage trunk.Item 4.I give and bequeath to my daughter in law Sarah F. Wynn my Black man Blanch and his increase little work table without drawer and raindrop table cloth.Item 5It is my will and desire that the property given to my grand Susannah S. Stephens embraced ? in Item third of this will be put in the hands of my daughter in law Sarah F. Wynn to be taken care of by her until she becomes of age or marrys in the eventshe should die before she becomes of age or marrys then it is to revert back to my estate. and be equally divided among the legatees.Item 6th It is my will and desire that the executor to this will have a strong stone wall built around....495Court of Ordinary January term 1866the family grave yard and pay for the same out of the estate. The balance of theestate of the estate to be equally divided among the above said legatees. I hereby appoint my son Glenn O. Wynn executor of this my last will and testament.In testimony I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this fourth day ofJanuary in the year of Lord one thousand eight-hundred and sixty four.SusannahxWynn\WitnessD. D. JohnsonG. B. LumpkinJ. P. SmithState of GeorgiaPersonally appeared in Open Court Daniel D. Johnson one ofOglethorpe County subscribingwitnesses to the written will and after being duly sworn deposeth and saith that he saw Susannah Wynn sign Seal publish and declare the within to be her last will and testament that at the time thereof she was of sound disposing mind and memory and that he saw George B. Lumpkin and J. P. Smith sign the same as witnesses all in the presence of the Testator at her special instance and request to the best of his knowledge and belief so help him God. D. D. JohnsonSworn to and subscribedin open court this 11th day of January 1866 E. C. Shackleford OrdinaryCourt of Ordinary January term 1866The last will and testament of Susannah Wynn late of Oglethorpe County deceased having been ??? to the Court by Glenn O. Wynn the executor therein named and the same having been duly...._____________________________________More AboutSARAH C. WYNNE:Burial: Wynne/Thaxton Cemetery, Oglethorpe Co., GANotes forMARTHA LOUISE ISABELLA BROOKES:Martha was raised by her Irvin grandparents after her mother's death. Iverson, her father, remarried, and Martha, apparently, was not fond of her stepmother, in the few references to her in the diary. On July 25th, 1853, she writes of Patrick (Mr. Stephens) "He came ( ed.:to the Irvin home) as I expected Sunday eve and that night out in the front piazza-- and a lovely moonlight it was!-- he exacted my promise to be his, indeed, urged at last for me to become his bride in October next... I never shall forget my feelings. I thought my heart would just beat out... and now I feel a quiet happiness such as my heart never knew before-- surely this is true love and heaven will bless us, for I feel it is Heaven's gift!"Recently , the Rev Cynthia Forde, a Bankston descendant who is transcribing Martha's 1852-1853 diary for me, wrote to ask about her-- "Did she continue writing in journals?Did she talk about the war?Were they affected by it?Were they still in Washington GA?Did they stay in GA?Did she lose sons?"I replied that "I think she did continue her writings after her marriage, and somewhere there might be other little copy books like the one I have that led to your work, and my grandfather's in the late 40s. Someday we might find them. But I expect that as she took on raising her children and running the household, she might have slowed down. :)"I don't know what she thought of the war. Pat was elected to the State House until 1863, when he resigned to accept a militia commission through the war's end. They suffered a lot after the war-- same as everyone else who were farmers and small slave holders. Pat became a Justice of the Peace for several years and they kept body and soul together."Their children mostly lived into adulthood, but not all."Her first born, Isabella Irvin Stevens and Mary Louisa Stevens, were both gone before 1880 to sickness,before Martha's 50th birthday. Mary Louisa counseled her mother Martha to name her new son (and last child) in 1874 "after Pa" and so my grandfather (and the rest of us-- Pats III, IV and V) have our names. Lou died two months after my grandad was born, and was gravely ill when he was born. Neither of these girls married. Both are at Oak Hill."Pat and Martha lived after their marriage at Oak Hill in Oglethorpe Co., near Bairdstown on the Greene Co. border. I am sure she was a frequent visitor back to Wilkes. She corresponded and was well read. I have some of her books, for example Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. She was a friend of Gov Gilmore, who inscribed his History of Georgia to her, complete with emendations in his own hand throughout the book! I treasure that. And I have a floralegia given to her by her grandfather Isaiah T Irvin before she married."When she married Pat, the ox carts travelled for days to Oak Hill with her possessions. I have two-- a rocking chair and a tall ornate hall hat stand which I am sure were in the Irvin's home in Wilkes, and which I took from Oak Hill in the 70s. We sold Oak Hill and its land in 1992-- the land had been in the family for almost exactly 200 years. It was originally Gen. John Stewart's property-- setting aside the Cherokees. John was Pat's grandfather."There is an inconsistency in dates between the death of Prudence Irvin in the Irvin Bible (reported in notes from letters to my grandfather)and Martha Brooks' own handwritten birth date in the Stevens bible. Martha places her birth (in the family bible pages I have)after her mother's death. But see, op. cit., the entry in the Irvin bible giving Prudence's death on 13 July, 1830, when Martha was three months old.I have adopted the Irvin bible entry as the accurate one.James Callaway, the son of Mary Anne Irvin and grandson of IT Irvin wrote to one of the Stevens children (I think Nell-- it mentions the Echo, which her husband owned):Macon, Ga.Feb 28, 1914"My dear Cousin:"Cousin Belle should have given you the information. She has a full line, got it up for her children to join D.A.R. etc. She has a daughter and grand daughter with her; and our women folks are the leisure class now, the men folks are the bread winners. And if I had to write with ink, I guess I could not do it today, for I'm tired when my day's work is over. But I have a little time now and that is the time to do things."Yes I knew your mother and father well. Been there (ed.: Oak Hill) often-- spent the night-- used to go when Belle was a young lady. She was your half cousin."I remember there were a lot of you kids, all pretty little girls. I knew Cousin Matt when she was a young lady. She was at our old home in Washington often.Old Grandpa Irwin partly raised her. He lived twelve miles from Washington--was a grand old man.I was out there many a time.His home was the rallying place for his daughters in the summers. He was rich-- had big orchards of apples, cherries, peaches, &c. Kept the spring house full of apple cider."My grandfather was Isaih (sic) Tucker Irwin, son of Christopher, who he moved to Wilkes when Grand Pa was about 13 years of age. Grand Pa married Isabella Bankston, daughter of Lawrence Bankston, whose wife was Nancy Henderson, daughter of Joseph Henderson, who wore knee breeches, silver buckles on his shoes, and powdered hair and was of the Virginia gentry class."The children of Grand Pa and dear old Grand Ma were: 1. Louisa, who married in 1820 to Louis L. Davis. 2. Nancy Irvin who married Thos. Faver (8 children). 3. Prudence born 9 Feb. 1810, married John Johnson. Her second was Iverson L. Brooks (2 children) Louisa and Matt (your mother) . 4. Rev. Charles Mercer IrvinD.D. born Nov. 11, 1813. married Harriett Battle, daughter of old Reuben Battle, Hancock County. 5. Mary Ann (my mother) born June 13, 1816. Married John H. Walton and lived on Savannah River on Lincoln side (3 children). Belle who married Robt. J. Bacon (they partly raised Senator Bacon) John and Stokes Walton, who were contemporary with Cousin Matt Brooks. Mary's second husband was Merrill Price Callaway and their children were Merrill, Henry Irvin, James, and Isaiah Tucker. Merrill died a year ago in Americus, Ga. Others living in Atlanta. 6. Isaiah Tucker Irvin, of Washington, Ga. born May 25th, 1819. Married Elizabeth Joyner (8 children). Sallie, Howlett, Charles Edgar (now in Washington) (He is the one who piloted Gen. Toombs in his flight from Yankees after war), Jane, Ben, Sciven (recently died), Tuck, Barnett. 7. Martha (Aunt Matt). Married Oliver Battle. Died in Texas (Waco)--"Nup of Va. married a Majors-- Nup Majors married a Lee. Nup Lee married Joseph Henderson. They had 4 children, Joseph, Majors, Nancy, Isabella. Nancy married Lawrence Bankston; their daughter Isabella married Isaiah Tucker Irvin in 1801, my grandfather (your great grandfather). Nancy Henderson and Lawrence Bankston lived to be very old in Wilkes County. Children Isabella Bankston (Irvin) Pricilen (Mathews) Elizabeth (Savington) Sallie (Shorter). Sallie Bankston Shorter was mother of Alfred Shorter who founded Shorter College, and old Grandma nursed him at her breast when he was an infant."Christopher Irvin married Louisa Tucker (in Virginia). 2 children: Charley and Isaiah Tucker. Isaiah Tucker Irvin born Aug. 15, 1783. Isabella his wife born Feb. 20, 1784. Great grandmother Louisa Tucker had 2 brothers in Georgia, Isaiah and Whitfield. Whitfield lived in Madison in a fine house, and etc. My father was Merrell P. Callaway, his father Isaac, son of Thomas. Thomas Callaway on N.C. had four sons, John, Jacob, Joseph, and Isaac, the youngest son, and first cousin to Enoch, father of Brantly Callaway, whom you have heard preach at old Sardis. I have been to Sardis many a time."I am with the Macon Telegraph-- get Echo in exchange-- and your husband must decipher this copy for you. I am glad you wrote me. I was attached to your parents. They asked... (sister R. J. Bacon and his wife Belle Walton were great cronies and friends.My dear, you are one of us. When at Penfield I used to run over (walk) and spend Saturday and Sunday. I remember how the garden was covered with heartease.(editor: this paragraph is as transcribed in Martha's Diary....)"Fred Foster used to go with me.Cousin James"Martha wrote to her son Iverson L. B. Stevens, undated, but about 1890.(Letter extremely difficult to read. Martha's fine youthful hand-- I have an original section of her 1853 diary, as well as schoolwork she did in 1845-- had grown weak, and the letter is written in pencil.)"Dear Ive-It is night and I can't see to write, but your father is going soon in the morning to mail Fleming's letter to you. My sister Louisa wrote me soon aftermy father's death that she wanted to live with me. I wrote her I had a large family of children and had been left in reduced circumstances by the freedom of the Negro and could not ask my husband to take her unless those who had been raised with her (my Grand Ma Irvin raised me from a child 9 months old) would give her what was her due; that as they got all my father's property, they ought to keep her. My Father left her a plantation in Green County. It was sold before his death. I think it sold for 7 or 8 thousand dollars & the Negroes he got from my Mother had increased to 40 or 45 (but then were freed) but they ought to have paid for the plantation because he left a clause in his will to pay his debts & that was an important debt to a sadly afflicted daughter. The cotton sold for one hundred thousand dollars in gold (40 a pound in gold).Brother W. told me this & that as a plantation that belonged to his mother had been willed to them they ought to have given that plantation to his poor afflicted sister, in place of the one given her & sold, that he would have preferred that it had gone to his afflicted sister."My father came to see me when Stewart was born 30th March 1865-- he died the day Lee surrendered. You have the ages of the family-- see what year Stewart was born. Your Father says it was the year before the surrender that Stewart was born & my Father came to see me. I think it was in March 1865 & my Father died not long after. [Editorial note-- Stewart was born March 31st 1864, according to family records] He came to go to his Geo plantation & had arranged to get a horse & buggy & go when he recd a letter from S. C. & left on next train. He requested your Father to continue to rent the Penfield lot & he hoped he could make enough out of it to pay him for his trouble but to keep the property from going for taxes. Your Father has had entire charge of it ever since. None has seen after it or said anything about appointing him their agent. No letter has ever been received from Ayer about the Penfield Lot. Wood came here and spent several days. He did not even go to see the lot but said he had kept it rented for enough to pay to keep it from going for taxes. Wood is a nice man-- a lawyer. Do you read the Greensboro "Herald?" I see in it Royal Smith (a Lawyer) & son of the lamented Bill Arp is appointed by Gov.. Tarrel to adjust the boundary line between Green & Hancock Counties so he will be on hand to helpFleming. Someone said that Howard W. Fleming (?) & Sam Sybly of Union Point are old college friends and raised together in Augusta!!!! But he told your father he would take case for 50 dollars. He (Sybly) is in co partnership with Hamp McWhorter of Lexington. All you do don't offend him for he stands high every where & never has lost a case tho' so young."(Letter ends here.)Brother W. is probably her half brother, William Walker Brooks. Ayer is probably her half sister Sarah's husband William Frank Ayer, in Augusta, with whom, I believe, her sister Louisa was living.Ayer's daughter was married to a William H. Fleming, who may have some connection to the Flemings mentioned in this letter. They lived in Augusta."Martha devoted her life to the creation of a home for her family. She had the largest selection of beautiful flowers, both garden and hothouse. Her formal garden was a wonder of its day. More than an acre, it had sixteen octagonal beds, each bordered with small boxwood and walks running between all. A large walk around the beds was bordered by large boxwood, and around the whole was a hedge of euonimus. Only traces of this garden now are there. Martha made Oak Hill the assembly place of the country-side, and now in the garden she lies with her husband and six of her children."-- Pat M. Stevens II, quoted from a preface to his 1950 printing of his mother's diary, "Martha's Diary, 1852-1853."In 1966 he followed Martha and the other six children there into her garden, where he lies with his wife and his son Robert.More AboutMARTHA LOUISE ISABELLA BROOKES:Burial: the Stevens Cemetery at Oak Hill, Oglethorpe Co., GAMarriage Notes forPATRICK STEVENS and MARTHA BROOKES:29 Nov 1853, Wilkes Co., Marriage Book 1832-56, p. 344, where she is Martha Isabella Brooks and he Patrick M Stevens.Child of PATRICK STEVENS and SARAH WYNNE is:

Notes forISABELLA IRVIN STEVENS:Died unmarried, though a beautiful girl, and well educated at a college in Atlanta. I have some of her books, marked "Belle Stevens."The 1880 Federal Census Mortality Schedule Oglethorpe County, GA, shows Belle Stevens dying in Nov., 1880 of consumption. Her death date shown is from the family bible, which may have been a later, incorrect, entry.

Notes forMARY LOUISA STEVENS:She was a beautiful young girl and full of life. Nancy Stevens Vaughan has her picture. She died two months after Patrick Junior's birth in 1874, and urged her mother to name him "after Pa" for there were no other children so named. She was buried in the garden cemetery "under the Euonymus bush,"where she still rests. The bush was beautiful even when I last saw it in 1992,said to be so over the years "because the ground was so pure." She wascalled Lula, and so named in the 1870 census where she is at Oak Hill.

Notes forJOHN MARTIN STEVENS:When, after the death of Patrick and Martha, there was some concern about the division of the farm, Oak Hill, it was put to auction in Lexington, Ga. in about 1913.John was the executor of the estate. He bought it, having made considerable money in real estate in the Florida boom. He owned it until his death in 1934, leaving it to Hattie Mitchell Stevens, his sister-in-law.Col. Patand Hattie Stevenslived there from about 1934 (on Pat's retirement from the Army)through their respective deaths in 1966 and 1976. Their son Robert stayed on afterward until he died in 1991.The land, after being in the same family for over 200 years, was left to the five grandchildren, none of whom wished to take ownership, andwas sold bythe estatein 1992.Gregory Pemberton of Va. bought the property and did considerablerestoration ofthe old house before selling it to Browning and Francine Adair in 1999.(Letter from Greg to me, 20 April, 1999.)John never married.

Notes forDR. ISAIAH TUCKER IRVIN STEVENS:Dr. Stevens graduated in medicine at the University of Georgia in 1885 and set up practice in Shady Dale, Ga.I have his diploma, on vellum, from the University, signed by PresidentP. H. Mell and all the professors. I have a long obituary in the files about his service in his community as a young doctor-- it praises his service and honesty.He became "exhausted" from his exertions and travel to patients, and in November, 1890, fell "ill in the lungs" and never recovered.

Notes forSTEWART FLOYD STEVENS:Uncle Stewart was crippled in youth and used crutches to get about. He remained at Oak Hill for most of his life, sometimes sharing the house with Rose or others who might be there.

Notes forHAARON W. BULLARD:Known as "Heck" Bullard. My father Pat III visited them in Machen, GA in the summer of 1918 when he was nine. He was there a month.He goes on "Heck had a brother who was a doctor of medicine living in Shady Dale. Machen and Shady Dale are in Jasper Co., GA. Machen was on GA Hiway 82 where it crosses 142.... two railroads crossed at Machen...."

Notes forSARAH ROSALIE STEVENS:If Rose was born in 1873 in Dec as the bible, with overwriting, reports, then Patrick could not have been born the next April. His year of birth is also overwritten in the same writing as Rose's.I think her birth was 1872. Another record, in her mother's hand, notes her birth as 18 December, 1872, and Pat's as 17 April 1874.Rose was living with Haaron and Pearl Bullard in Machen in 1929 (but see their deaths as perhaps earlier?) according to notes of my grandfather, Pat. She had an ailment of some kind and was never married.See under Walter Smith, her great nephew, for a story of Rose in her youth.________________________________The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 123 page 141 Miss Sarah Rosalie Stevens. DAR ID Number: 122461Born in Bairdstown, Ga.Descendant of Capt. John Floyd, as follows:1. Patrick M. Stevens (1823-1905) m. 2d 1853 Martha I. Brooks (1832-1905).2. John M. Stevens (1781-1858) m. 1819 Sarah Stewart (d. 1827). (Editor: 1815 not 1819)3. John Stewart (1760-1830) m. Mourning Floyd (b. 1770).4. John Floyd m. 1769 - Burford (d. 1770).John Floyd (1751-83) was a patriot and captain of a privateer, 1776-79. He was born in Amherst, Va.; died in Floyd Station, Ky.Also No. 116862.